Ghost of Hurricane Humberto slams UK, Ireland as deadly Storm Amy with 90+ mph wind

The UK Met Office reported a peak gust of 96 mph in Tiree in western Scotland, while a gust of 92 mph in Magilligan set a record for the highest gust in October in Northern Ireland.

DUBLIN, Ireland — Some of the former remnants of Category 5 Hurricane Humberto slammed into Ireland and the UK as record-setting North Atlantic Storm Amy on Friday and Saturday, leaving at least one dead, travel snarled and more than 200,000 without power.

A man in his 40s was killed in "a weather-related incident" in Letterkenny, Ireland, according to the BBC

Most of the power outages were in Ireland – 184,000 at the storm's peak, according to ESB Networks – but tens of thousands also lost power in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. The BBC also reported extensive train and airport delays across the region.

Dublin Airport reported 115 flights were canceled, and 18 inbound flights were diverted due to strong winds, which neared 50 mph. 

Wind gauges clocked a peak gust of 96 mph in Tiree in western Scotland, while a gust of 92 mph in Magilligan set a record for highest gust in October in Northern Ireland, the UK Met Office reported.

Storm Amy also set an October record for lowest pressure recorded at a land station in the UK, dropping to 947.9 mb (27.99 inHg).

Photos from around the UK showed extensive tree fall damage and areas of flooding.

Storm had echoes of Hurricane Humberto

While the storm that hit the UK had transformed into a typical extratropical northern-latitude low pressure system days before reaching Europe, the storm drew some of its meteorological roots from Hurricane Humberto.

Humberto spent about two weeks crossing the Atlantic in a curved path from the Main Development Region, then underwent rapid intensification as it turned north well off the U.S. Atlantic Coast, briefly reaching Category 5 status.

The storm eventually merged with the jet stream over the North Atlantic Ocean and lost its tropical characteristics – but not before delivering a light, glancing blow to Bermuda and working in tandem with fellow Hurricane Imelda to churn up monster surf that slammed the Atlantic Seaboard, leading to the loss of at least nine homes along North Carolina's Outer Banks.

While the U.S.'s National Hurricane Center will only name tropical storms and hurricanes, the UK Met Office works with meteorological offices in Ireland and the Netherlands to maintain a list of names for more typical autumn and winter North Atlantic storms.

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